I recently attended the 2011 TARGUSinfo Scoring Summit as a speaker on scoring calls in a call center environment.

I had been briefed that my purpose was to help educate marketers on our experience with modeling and scoring inbound calls with our voice-interactive Voce platform. More specifically, to help address the commonly held belief that modeling, scoring and segmenting calls is overwhelming and complex – resulting in many Marketers choosing not to apply it to their marketing efforts. Speaking from experience, I can definitely relate.

Over the years I have found that many “experts” in modeling are mathematicians and economists, like myself. More often than not, these experts like to make scoring and segmentation sound really difficult because they want you believe that you have to be really smart to apply it. They are really good at making the simple, complex. But it doesn’t have to be.

I’m on the side of the Marketer, here. Complexity should not be attributed any more value or worth than it deserves. What is most important to me is the result I get, not how overly-complex the solution can be. And that is true for modeling, too.

What is Modeling and Scoring?
My simple definition of modeling and scoring is the methodology and ability to segment callers. As a Marketer, I absolutely understand and appreciate the importance of segmentation. Being able to identify, categorize and present different groups of consumers with products and offers that are most attractive to them can be the difference between a winning campaign and a campaign that totally bombs. That I can get a result from.

Applying scoring and segmentation can be as simple as breaking out radio versus TV callers, or cell phone versus landline callers, and treating them differently. It can also be more scientific, like true regression scoring with overlay data in real time (insert shameless plug for TargusInfo, here), or caller experience scoring based on frequency of defined incidence. But as a Marketer you don’t have to be the expert on this. That doesn’t matter. What does matter is what you do with that knowledge.

When do you Score and Segment Callers?
When it comes to inbound calls we have developed a marketing approach around what we call the Conversion Landscape. The application of call scoring and segmentation can occur at many points of contact along the conversion landscape (and for the most part, this landscape can apply to online conversion efforts, as well):

1. Call delivery. Scoring and segmentation can be used to determine how to answer the call, who should answer the call, the order in which to answer the calls, and even go to the extreme of determining which calls to answer.
2. In-call experience. Scoring and segmentation can determine what to offer, when to offer it, and when to change the experience for the caller (for example, transfer to a live agent).
3. After-Call. Scoring and segmenting calls can also benefit your back-end marketing and lead conversion efforts by helping to determine what experience to provide, who to contact, how to contact them, and what to offer them.

What Should You Consider When Scoring and Segmenting Calls?

1. Variables with coverage. The type of call is a variable with coverage. Every call is either a landline or cell phone type.
2. Dynamic and predictable segmentation. You should be able to validate that the results of your segmentation are both measurable and impactful.
3. Actionable Plans. You have to have a formalized, operational plan on how you will treat each segment or the exercise is a waste of time and effort.
4. Simple Execution. I’ve seen too many good intentions fail because the treatment of segments was far too complex.

The most important outcome is producing outputs with clear and valid segmentation opportunities. With that objective in mind, it’s OK if there is front-end complexity within the scoring model, itself. However, when complexity creeps into the segmentation strategy and the prescribed actions of the marketing plan, it will quickly eliminate all of the intended gains derived from an effective scoring model. That is exactly what you must guard against.

This is where I have total appreciation for TARGUSinfo’s philosophy of “crawl, walk, then run” when it comes to applying scoring and market segmentation to your conversion strategy.